Drachenschwanz Brücke, Wooden footbridge in Ronneburg, Germany

The Drachenschwanz Bridge is a 225-metre wooden footbridge over the Gessental valley in Ronneburg, Thuringia. It is a stressed-ribbon structure of wood designed by Munich architect Richard Johann Dietrich, with spans of 65 + 15 + 65 + 15 + 65 metres. Its deck is 3.0 to 4.3 metres wide and reaches 25 metres above the ground.

The bridge was built as an attraction for the 2007 Federal Garden Exhibition in Thuringia and opened on August 4, 2006. The project brought attention to the region and made Ronneburg into a new destination for visitors.

The bridge got its name from a local newspaper contest, and visitors can see why when they look at its curved shape flowing across the valley. The name has become so natural that residents simply call it by this playful title.

The bridge is a pedestrian route across the Gessental valley, with a deck 3.0 to 4.3 m wide and a maximum height of 25 m above the ground. Access is on foot from the two areas of the Neue Landschaft Ronneburg; the crossing is level along the deck, with no steps or descent on the bridge itself. Sturdy footwear is useful on the wooden planks in wet weather.

The bridge is a Spannband (stress-ribbon) structure in wood, not a cable-stayed design: its spans measure 65 + 15 + 65 + 15 + 65 m. It received the grade 1.5 at its acceptance inspection and cost about 1.6 million euros according to the architect's office. On 22 November 2007 it was one of four German transport structures given the Renault Traffic Future Award.